Textile containing mixed fibers and method of making same



Patented Oct. 19, 1937 PATENT OFFICE TEXTILE CONTAINING MIXED FIBERS ANDMETHOD or MAKING SAME Leon W. Weinberg, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor toCelaneseCorporation of America, a corporation of Delaware No Drawing.Application October 17, 1934, Serial No. 748,663

2 Claims.

This invention relates to the production of fab rics, woven, knitted,netted, etc., from yarns, some of which contain a mixture of animalfibers and artificial fibers, or artificial fibers and natural 5 fibers,and more particularly to warping and weaving yarns containing a. mixtureof cellulose acetate fibers and wool fibers.

An object of the invention is the economic and expeditious production oftextile materials such as a fabric employing yarns containing artificialfibers and natural fibers. Another object of the invention is theproduction of a fabric from mixed yarns that is strong and retains itsshape. Other objects of the invention will appear from the followingdetailed description;

In the manufacture of fabric from yarns containing mixed fibers, thedifferences in the sur-; faces, the elasticity and, in general, thetexture of the component types of fibers require vary-' ing degrees ofdrawing and twisting in the forme ing of the yarns, and the subsequenttreatment in the forming of the fabric, to produce the strongestpossible fabric with'the desired hand and like properties. Thus, informing yarns containing more than fifty per cent of artificial fibersmixed with animal fibers, the yarns are given a] lower than normaldegree of twist and are drawn to a lesser extent than in forming thesame weight of yarn made of all wool fibers or, if de-i sired, theamount of twist may be increased to al higher than normal degree and theextent of the draw still further reduced. The yarns in such a casedepend somewhat on the set of the twist to lend strengththereto, asthere is not thesame degree of interlocking of fibers, by surfacescales; as there is in an all wool yarn. This set in the twist, as wellas the conditioning of the animal fiber, may be accomplished, by thisinvention,- by treating the yarn with steam. This treatment of the yarnalso eliminates snarling of, yarns in the subsequent processingoperations.

By employing this invention, yarns containing large proportions ofartificial fibers, such as those formed of organic derivatives ofcellulose, are

made more strong at the same time that the! yarns are conditioned forweaving, etc. into a fabric. The resulting fabric is stronger and morefree from slipping than fabrics made of the same yarn without employingthis invention. A furthe:- advantage of this invention is the improvedhand and feel of the fabric produced.

By employing this invention, a much softer, but more springy andstronger fabric may be produced than was heretofore possible from thesame fibers. As a part of the strength of the! yarn is derived from thetwist imparted thereto, and since by this invention that twist ispartially, at least, set in the yarn, yarns less highly twisted havingthe strength of more highly twisted yarns are formed. 5 Furthermore, ifanimal fibers are mixed with the artificial fibers, they are conditionedfor, weaving and like operations. Thus the yarns are made temporarilymore pliable.

In accordance with my invention I treat and condition yarns for textileoperations by steaming the yarns preferably just prior to their use inthe textile operation when said yams contain} of staple length. Thus bythe woolen, worsted or French method of spinning, yarns may be 25 formedthat contain from 10 to per cent of, artificial fibers, such as theorganic derivatives,

of cellulose, and the remaining per cent of ani-@ mal fibers such aswool, camels hair, mohair, etc. Further, such yarns may be doubled ortwisted with yarns containing substantially continuous, filaments of anorganic derivative of cellulose) or such filaments may be broken andtwisted to, form an imitation spun yarn. Yarns or threa may be formed bydoubling a wool yarn with a 35 yarn or thread of staple fiber orcontinuous filaments of an organic derivative of cellulose.

Any suitable artificial fiber or filament may be employed with thenatural fiber, such as those: containing regenerated or reconstitutedcellu-. lose, and more preferably those containing or-' ganicderivatives of cellulose that morereadily lend. themselves to thetreatment with steam. Examples of organic derivatives of cellulose arethe organic esters of cellulose such as cellulose acetate, celluloseformate, cellulose propionate and cellulose butyrate, and the celluloseethers such as methyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose and ben zyl cellulose.The filaments of the organic de-i rivatives of cellulose may be formedby either 50 the wet or dry method of spinning. They may. containbesides the organic derivatives of eel-I lulose suitable effectmaterials such as'dyes, lakes," de-electrifiers, pigments, lubricants,filling materials, plasticizers and sizes that may be applied] 55 to thefilaments as a coating, with or without the presence of a swelling agentfor the organic derivative of cellulose, or they may be incorporatedwith the filaments by adding the same to the solution from which thefilaments are formed.

The filaments may be cut or broken into staple length and the same spunto a yarn to be doubled with -ayarn containing natural fibers, or thestaple fiber may be mixed with natural fibers and the mixture spun toa'yarn. The filaments may also be grouped and the individual filamentscut or broken and twisted together to form an imitation spun yarn orstaplized yarn that may, be doubled with yarn containing natural fibers.Othermethods may be employed for forming yarns or threads containingboth natural and artificial fibers. K

The natural fibers may be cotton, flax, silk, or they may be fibers withwhich the process of this invention is of particular advantage, namely,animal fibers such as wool. These fibers may be mixed with artificialfibers and the same carded and mule spun or otherwise spun to yarns. Inmule spinning and like spinning operations wherein there is a drawingaction as well as twisting action the drawing action is preferablydecreased in direct proportion to the percentage of artificial fiberpresent in the roving.

The yarns containing the mixed textile materials may be formed intopackages such as cones for warping and bobbins for weaving, or in cones,cheeses, spools, etc. for knitting or into any other suitable package.These packages are then placed in a chamber and the chamber filled withsteam. Thelength of treatment will depend upon the type of package,temperature and dryness of the steam and other circumstances. The lengthof treatment is such that the steam penetrates somewhat equallythroughout the package and imparts a moist, warm feel to the yarn. Theyarn preferably has this feel when it reaches the fabricating operation.The steam employed may be wet or dry steam and applied underatmospheric. pressure or under increased, pressure. Other methods may beemployed for applying the steam such as forcing the steam or sucking thesteam through the package or similar suitable methods. Although thesteaming of the yarn is preferably done just prior to processing thesame into a fabric, the steaming operation may Example Yarn containingabout 70% cellulose acetate fibers and 30% wool fibers spun to 1/22Galashiels count is spooled and subjected to wet steam at atmosphericpressure for 20 minutes and then warped. A similar yarn wound on bobbinsor pins is steamed 10 minutes and woven into the I warp as a weft. Inboth cases the wool fraction, as well as the yarn as a whole. is mademore pliable and conditioned such that an even fabric is produced. Thesteam also tends to set the twist in the yarn making it stronger andmore easily handled while the weave or stitch shape is more permanent. IYarns of mixed fibers may also be knitted or netted into fabrics withthe some general advantages. In weaving, warp knitting, etc. only a partof the yarns may be steamed, for example in weaving, the weft yarns onlymay be steamed.

It is to be understood that the foregoing detailed description is merelygiven by way of illustration and many alterations may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention what I desire to secure by Letters Patentis:

l. A method of producing fabrics by weaving, knitting or by similarprocesses from yarns consisting of substantially 30% of animal fibersand substantially 70% of fibers containing organic derivatives ofcellulose which comprises steaming said yarns and promptly thereafterincorporating the yarns into a fabric.

2. A method of producing fabrics by weaving, from yarns consisting ofsubstantially 30% of animal fibers and substantially 70% of fiberscontaining cellulose acetate which comprises steaming said yarns andweaving the yarns while in a warm moist condition into a fabric.

, LEON W. WEINBERG.

